Check Yes, Juliet
by SomethingMoreCreative
Summary: Percy and Piper are best friends, and they might like those two hot blondes that run through their neighborhood every Saturday morning. AU. Complete.


**A/N: This story is complete, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I've been working on it for a while now, and it took longer to complete than I thought it would. Feel free to stop by my tumblr and talk to me about anything bc my ask is probably the best way to contact me.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians,_ _The Heroes of Olympus_ or anything else that you may recognize. **

_-5282015-_

"Nice," Piper commented as he slid down the ramp and took a seat beside her.

"Thanks," Percy said, grabbing his skateboard and scooting off of the ramp so he didn't trip anybody that came down.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching a few other people skate up and down the half-pipe. There were a few good people here, but it was mostly just kids that had dragged their parents to the park. Most of the other teens had already left, and they would probably come back later tonight to skate when there weren't a bunch of little kids running around.

Percy and Piper had been friends since grade school. They had met each other in the fifth grade when they had been paired together to do a project about something informative, and after a few minutes of arguing, they had both realized that they liked to skate. So, they had made a _kickass_ video and poster explaining the basics. Percy and Piper had even both worn their skating gear and brought their skateboards along. They had gotten an 'A' on the project, and they had been best friends ever since.

So Percy could tell that something was wrong with Piper today. Her smile wasn't as radiant as it usually was, and she was fidgeting with her hair, which she _never_ did.

Percy watched a younger kid fall off of his board and slide down the ramp on his knees. After the kid got back up, Percy turned to Piper and said, "What's wrong, Pipes?"

"I met somebody," she said quietly.

He grinned and bumped her shoulder with his, "That's great!"

"No, it's not."

"Why not?"

Piper sighed, "He either has a girlfriend, a best friend, or a sister. And I'm not sure which one."

Percy winced. He had been in that boat a few times. "Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah."

"But you don't know which one?" Percy asked.

She shook her head, "No. He runs through our neighborhood every Saturday morning with this blonde haired girl. I think that they even go to our school? But they must be in the AP classes or whatever because I think that I've seen her a few times."

"But you can't tell if they're together or not?" Percy asked. "You said that you had seen them a few times."

She fixed him with a look that told him she wasn't amused. "Sometimes they act like siblings and then other times he has his arm around her or she ruffles his hair. I don't know. They act like we do, and most normal best friends don't act like that," Piper said.

Percy shrugged, "That's true. Why don't you just ask him?"

"I can't just _ask_ him!"

"Sure you can," Percy said easily. "You said that they run through our neighborhood?"

She snorted, "Yeah, but it's way before you get up."

He laughed and nudged her shoulder, "Hey, I can get up early sometimes. I have a plan. We're going to get up and go on a ride in the morning. You know which way they run and stuff?"

"Yeah," she said warily.

He winked, "Okay then. We can go the same way and make sure that they run into us. And _then_ I'll use my charming skills and distract the blonde girl while you flirt with the boy. Nothing can go wrong!"

Piper rolled her eyes, "Actually, I think that a lot of stuff could go wrong. But…"

Percy grinned, "Alright. Meet me outside of my house."

Ω

Even though it was too goddamn early for this, Percy was trying not to jump up and down in excitement.

"Would you calm down?" Piper asked as they boarded down the sidewalk. "We might not even see them."

"Pipes!" Percy said dramatically. "You wound me! And besides, why aren't you excited? We look awesome, and we're kickass skaters so of course they're going to fall for both of us!"

"Both of us?" She asked suspiciously. "I thought that this was for me to meet that guy that I like, not because you we going to get something out of it too."

Percy shrugged, "Well, if I have to distract the girl then I might as well get something out of it, right? And besides, we both know that I like blondes."

Piper laughed as she skated around a crack in the sidewalk. Percy jumped over a fire hydrant, and Piper whooped excitedly when he stuck the landing.

They may have looked cool for one second, but that was when it all went downhill.

Just as they rounded the corner, Piper jerked her board to the right, and Percy crashed into her back, sending them both flying to the ground. Percy was flat on his back on the sidewalk with a sore elbow. Piper was laying across his chest, and her knee was digging into his side.

"Oh my god," someone said. Percy didn't recognize the voice. "Are you guys okay?"

Percy was still groaning, but he felt Piper get up off of his chest. He also heard her squeak nervously.

 _Uh oh,_ Percy thought.

He opened his eyes to find two blondes standing over them. They were both staring down at them in concern. The guy had sharp blue eyes, and his blonde hair was cropped close to his head in a perfect hairstyle. He was fairly tall, and his shoulders were broad, like he worked out on a regular basis. Percy could see why Piper liked him.

On the blonde guy's other side, there was a girl with curly hair. She was staring at them with really intense gray eyes, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing a loose t-shirt and a pair of running shorts, and she was a few inches shorter than the blonde guy. She was really pretty. Thank god Percy had hit his head because now they wouldn't expect him to be able to talk.

Then Piper was hauling him up off of the concrete and smoothing the dust off of his back. Percy blinked a few times, and the world stopped spinning long enough for him to get a good look at the two blondes in front of him.

Damn, Percy hoped that they weren't dating each other.

"We're so sorry," Piper started. "We didn't want to hit you guys."

"Yeah," Percy groaned. "So we just hit the ground instead."

Piper hit him lightly across the chest, but the blondes were laughing.

"Are you guys really okay?" The girl asked. "We didn't mean to make you fall."

The guy nodded along, "We don't normally run into anyone right here so we weren't expecting you."

"Yeah we just decided to—" Piper started.

The blonde girl tipped her head to the side and interrupted Piper, "Wait, don't you guys go to school with us? West Lauderdale High, right?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah, you guys are on the track team, right? I think I've seen you before."

Both of them nodded. The girl said, "I'm the captain, actually."

The blonde guy rolled his eyes suddenly, "Yeah, right. If you were captain, our whole team would be down the drain because of your issues with perfection."

Okay, Percy felt seriously out of the loop. He shifted his gaze to the ground and shoved one of his hands through his hair, hesitating over the bump on the back of his head. His mom was going to yell at him for not wearing his helmet, and she would probably put him on babysitting duty for the next week as punishment.

"You okay?" Piper asked, pushing his hand away from the bump so she could see it.

He nodded slowly and blinked a few times, "Yeah, until Mom yells at me for not wearing my helmet again."

"I'm assuming this happens a lot?" The blonde girl asked, raising her eyebrows.

Piper nodded before Percy could say anything. "For him to have been skating before he could walk, he's still clumsier than anyone I've ever met."

"Hey," Percy warned, smiling lightly. "I'll have you know that it's been at least three weeks since we've had to go to the hospital."

And then all of them were laughing, and even though it was at his expense, Percy was laughing too.

"Oh," Piper said suddenly. "By the way, I'm Piper, and this is my best friend, Percy."

Percy held out his hand and shook both of the blondes' hands.

"I'm Annabeth," the girl said. "And this is Jason."

Jason frowns. "It's weird that we haven't met before, especially since we go to the same school. I don't think I've ever seen you guys."

Piper shot Percy a quick look because now they have to explain that they sit outside at the front of the school during lunch with their other friends to skate and how they mostly ditch school days to hit the skate parks and a few bars where one of their favorite bands plays. It's no wonder that they don't see the track stars around, especially when they stayed away from most school functions like they were the plague.

"Uh, yeah," Percy said. "Weird."

There was a slight awkward pause, and Percy bent over to pick up his board, grabbing Piper's and handing it to her too.

"Well," Jason said. "We better get going. We don't want to hold you guys up."

Piper nodded, "Yeah, um, it was great to meet you guys."

Annabeth smiled, "Definitely. We'll see you guys around."

Jason and Annabeth both smiled at them again before they squeezed past them and set off on an easy jog down the block.

Percy and Piper both watched them for a few seconds before Percy started laughing.

"Oh my god," Piper moaned. "That was so embarrassing."

"He's cute," Percy sang, poking her in the side.

Piper flinched away from him and slapped him across the chest. She was blushing now, but she grabbed her skateboard and hoped on top of it. Percy did the same, catching up to her to ride beside her.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Piper asked.

"Well," he started. "We could go beg Mom to cook breakfast, and then we could take a nap."

She gave him a dry look. "I meant about the two blondes that we both want to date. And don't argue with me. I saw the way you looked at her."

Percy grinned, "Isn't it obvious? We'll "run into them" again next Saturday."

Ω

They were a bit more careful the next Saturday. Percy and Piper were riding a little faster than they were last time so this time, they were on a straight path on the sidewalk when they spotted Jason and Annabeth running toward them.

This time, they looked a lot cooler. Sure, they weren't doing anything crazy, but at least they weren't laying on the ground.

Percy and Piper both slowed to a stop and grabbed their skateboards before moving out of the way. Jason and Annabeth were both smiling, and they jogged down the sidewalk, coming to a stop in front of them.

"Déjà vu, huh?" Annabeth said, looking back and forth between Percy and Piper.

Percy laughed and nudged Piper.

She was smiling too, and Percy wondered if she was trying to be extra dazzling or if it was just because Jason was there. He was low key studying Piper, and he had a slight blush on his face when Annabeth nudged him too.

"Sorry, guys," Percy started. "We don't mean to mess up your run every day."

"It's no big deal," Annabeth said. "We don't really hard core run anyway. It's just best friend time since _this one_ refuses to take me out for breakfast every Saturday morning instead."

Percy shot Piper a smug look when Jason and Annabeth started arguing. They _were_ just best friends.

"You guys should come with us," Annabeth said suddenly, grabbing Percy's attention again.

Jason shot her a panicked look, and _god,_ Percy knew what she was going.

"Yeah," Percy said with a sly grin. "We should do that."

"Percy—" Piper started, grabbing a fistful of his black sweater. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was about to drag him away.

"No, it'll be fun!" Annabeth said. Her gray eyes were wide too, but there was a mischievous sparkle there. "You guys can skateboard right beside us. We only have another mile left."

"Yeah," Percy said over Piper and Jason's objections. "We've got plenty of time, right, Pipes?"

She shot him another look, and Percy knew that he would probably pay for this later, but then she smiled and nodded, agreeing to go along with them.

"Piper, why don't you go on ahead with Jason?" Percy offered nonchalantly, avoiding her glare. "I want to talk to Annabeth some more."

"That's a great idea!" Annabeth agreed, sending him a wink and shoving Jason forward. "You guys go, we're right behind you."

Piper sent Jason a weak smile before she put her board down and hopped on. Jason caught up to her after a few seconds, and he jogged at her side. Percy watched them for a few seconds until he glanced over at Annabeth.

"Jason's been moping around all week because he didn't have the courage to ask her out last time," she said as she started jogging. Percy jumped on his board and coasted next to her. "I wasn't about to deal with that again."

Percy laughed, "I know what you mean. It wasn't a coincidence that we ran into you guys that first time."

Annabeth smirked at him, "Us either. We changed our running route to pass by her house when he saw her skating down the sidewalk that first time."

Percy laughed again, and _wow,_ it was easy talking to her. Normally, he was a blubbering mess around pretty girls.

And _damn,_ was she pretty. Her gray eyes were amazing, and her curls were always pulled back into a messy ponytail that looked great. Her legs were also really long, and he wondered what it would feel like to have them wrapped around his waist if they ever—

"But what we couldn't figure out," Annabeth was saying. Percy shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Was if you guys were dating or not. I didn't want him to look like an idiot if he asked her out and you were already her boyfriend."

"We actually had the same issue," Percy admitted, looking up to see Piper laughing at something that Jason had said. Percy smiled. "I wasn't sure until you made the best friend comment."

She laughed, "Yeah, I figured. That's why I made it."

Before he could say anything else, he heard Piper yell, "Hey, loser, I bet you can't jump over that fire hydrant."

Percy rolled his eyes and pushed off with his foot, clearing the hydrant easily. He landed back on the ground perfectly, and he let Annabeth catch back up to him while Piper laughed again.

"Bit of a show off are we?" Annabeth asked with a grin.

He laughed too, "No, I just don't back down from a challenge."

Annabeth's smile grew. "Neither do I."

Ω

After that Saturday, Piper and Percy kept running into Annabeth and Jason. They would run into them on the sidewalk when they were skating home from school, they saw them a few times when they were out in town, and Percy even started seeing them in the hallway at school.

Like today, for example.

Percy and Piper were walking to their lockers (which were of course right beside each other because duh), talking about the concert they were going to see tonight. One of their friends was in a band, and they were playing tonight at a bar. Percy and Piper were planning on smoozing the bouncer (they knew him after all, so it wouldn't be a big deal) to get inside to listen.

Piper was talking about what she was planning on wearing when both of them came to a dead stop in the middle of the hallway.

Jason and Annabeth were leaning up against their lockers, obviously waiting on them. Jason was drumming his fingers against the wall, and Annabeth was reading a book, looking up and saying something to Jason every few seconds.

"Uh," Percy said to Piper. "What are they doing?"

Piper looked just as bewildered as he did, but she shrugged and pushed forward, pulling him with her. "I don't know, but it looks like we're about to find out."

Annabeth looked up when she heard them, and she smiled at Percy when he met her gaze. She was wearing a pair of jeans and sneakers with a t-shirt, but she looked incredible. Her eyes were sparkling, and she laughed as Jason stood up straight.

"Hey, Piper," he said immediately, smiling at her. He switched his gaze to Percy and nodded, "Percy."

"Jason," Percy said with a slight smile and a nod. He looked over to Annabeth and grinned. "Hey, Annabeth."

"Hey, guys," Annabeth said, smiling at them.

"Uh, what's up?" Piper asked, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Jason shook his head immediately, "Oh no! Nothing's wrong. We were just… uh, we were going to—"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and slapped him across the chest while he stuttered. She turned back to Percy and Piper with a smile. She said, "Actually, we were just wondering if you guys are busy tonight. We're having movie night, and we were wondering if you guys wanted to join us."

Piper looked over at Percy in surprise. He knew that this was really nice of them (and of course it would be awesome to hang out with Annabeth any day of the week), but Percy and Piper had been looking forward to this concert for _weeks._ Sure, even though they both had undeniable crushes on these two blondes, they couldn't just blow off the concert tonight.

"Um, that is so nice, and we really appreciate it, but—"

Percy watched as Jason's shoulders slumped as Jason started explaining himself. He looked really disappointed in that second, and Percy felt kind of bad.

"Wait," Percy started. "We can't do movie night tonight, but you guys should come party with us."

Piper grinned at him, nodding along. "Yeah, you guys really should."

Annabeth shot Jason a nervous look before she looked back over to Percy. Her voice was low, "What kind of party?"

"Oh, it's not a real party," Piper amended, shoving Percy slightly. "A friend of ours is in a band, and they're playing at a bar tonight. We're going to watch, and you guys could come with us if you want to. Maybe we could do movie night some other time?"

Jason nodded, "Uh, yeah, definitely."

"How do you guys plan on getting into a bar?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

Percy shrugged, "We know people. So, you guys in or what?"

He watched as Annabeth and Jason exchanged a glance. Jason lifted one of his shoulders in a shrug, and Annabeth sighed lightly before she looked back to Percy and Piper.

She met his gaze and said, "We're in."

Ω

"Okay, so what should I wear now that this is a double-date?"

Percy's eyebrows shot up, "Is this a double-date? Or are we just hanging out?"

"I mean, it's probably not _technically_ a double-date, but it might as well be. And I don't want to just wear something plain. If anything, I want to look so good that Jason won't be able to form two sentences the whole time," Piper said with a sigh.

He laughed into his phone and rolled over onto his stomach on his bed, "I don't think that's going to be a problem, Pipes. He can't talk when you're around anyway."

"Do you think he likes me?"

Her voice sounded a lot smaller than it had two seconds ago, and Percy finally understood that she was really asking him. Sure, they joked a lot, but Percy could always tell when she was serious about something. Her voice got a lot lower, and she was probably pushing some of her hair behind her ears or curling it up into a bun on top of her head.

They were talking on the phone right now. After Annabeth and Jason had agreed to going to the concert with them, they had decided that Percy and Piper would pick them up at Annabeth's house. Percy and Piper had whooped excitedly as they skated home that day, and they were in such a great mood that they didn't even get mad when Old Man Greg yelled at them to get off the sidewalk.

"Pipes, when he's around you, he never stops looking at you," Percy said. "I think he likes you. But I'm going to kick his ass if he hurts you."

Piper laughed softly, and Percy was relieved that she sounded back to normal. She said, "I think Annabeth likes you too."

"You think so?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I think so. But I would be careful. She seems like the type that wants to be friends first. I mean, the last thing you want to do is scare her off."

Percy hummed in agreement.

"So what are you going to wear?"

"What I wore to school today?"

"Percy!"

"What?" He asked indignantly.

"You can't wear that tonight! What would Annabeth think?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "So if I don't wear this then what the fuck do I wear?"

Piper hummed for a second before she said, "Oh! Wear that black button down shirt that I got you for your birthday and those dark jeans that you have. They make your ass look great."

"Been staring at my ass, have we?"

"Well somebody has to if you ever hope to have a girlfriend. What kind of best friend would I be if I let you wear crappy jeans that don't show off what you've got?"

"Thanks, babe. You're the best," Percy said dryly, rolling off of his bed to grab the clothes from his closet. The shirt was wrinkly, but he could get his mom to iron it for him. Thankfully, his jeans were clean too, so he didn't have to worry about them having any weird stains on them.

He hesitated when he spotted his favorite beanie. He said, "Since you've got outstanding taste, beanie or no?"

"Hmm. No beanie. Annabeth looks at your hair a lot. I think she wants to know if it's actually as soft as it looks."

He was laughing slightly, but there was a blush covering his face.

"So what are _you_ going to wear?" Percy asked, changing the topic.

"I don't know," she groaned. "Tell me what to wear."

"Okay, uh," Percy squinted, trying to remember some of her favorite outfits. "Oh, wear those skinny jeans and those heels that you like. I'm pretty sure Jason was staring at your legs the other day. And wear your hair down."

"Great, awesome," Piper said. Percy could hear her digging through her closet. "Wait, what shirt?"

"Uh, not something cut too low," he said. "You don't want to overwhelm the poor guy."

Piper sighed, "You're right. What about that shirt with the back cut out of it?"

"Yeah, that would probably be good."

"Cool. Get Sally to iron that shirt, and brush your teeth before you come get me," Piper ordered.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, _Mom."_

Ω

"What if they think it's weird?" Piper asked suddenly, frowning over at him as they pulled up outside of Annabeth's house.

Percy shrugged, "Maybe they'll be too polite to say anything."

Piper sighed in exasperation as they got out of the car. Percy walked around stand beside Piper, but before they could walk to the front door to knock, Annabeth and Jason came running out the door and down the steps. They were laughing about something, but the sobered up when they spotted them.

Annabeth was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark purple shirt with a pair of flats. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and her eyes were sparkling. Percy didn't think it was fair that she looked that pretty, but, hey, he could deal with it.

Jason was already staring at Piper and blushing. He was wearing a pair of light jeans and a gray button down shirt. Unlike Percy, his sleeves were rolled down all the way to his wrists, and his shirt was tucked in.

"Hey, guys," Percy called, looking back to Annabeth and smiling. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," Annabeth said, hopping down the last step.

"Great," he said. "Jason, you can ride up front with me, and we'll make the girls climb in the back."

Jason laughed lightly, glancing over at him when Piper made a face in his direction. Percy stuck his tongue out at her.

They all climbed into Percy's Jeep, and when he looked up into the rear view mirror, Annabeth smiled at him.

Ω

It was pretty obvious that Annabeth and Jason weren't used to doing stuff like this because the closer that they got to the bar, they more nervous they got. By the time they were walking down the street and saw the crowd outside the door, even Annabeth had stopped talking.

Percy glanced over at her curiously, and she as biting her lip. He grinned and nudged her with his shoulder, laughing slightly when she looked over at him.

"Not nervous, are you?" He asked.

She scowled, "No. Just wondering how you plan on getting us in there when all of these people are already standing in line."

"Oh, you just watch," Percy said smugly. "Wait right here with Piper."

Percy wandered away from them, skipping the line and heading directly for the bouncer, who was scowling forcefully at the people who were waiting to go inside.

"Hey, man," Percy said. "I believe you have a list with my name on it, right?"

The bouncer raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down before he put two and two together. "Percy Jackson?"

"That's me."

"All right, go ahead, man."

"I've got three of my friends with me," he said. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Nah, you're good. Have a nice night," the guy said, scowling when somebody in the line started yelling.

Percy grinned, turning slightly to wave at Piper, who didn't look surprised in the least. Annabeth and Jason, on the other hand, were gaping at him. "Thanks, man. You too."

Piper appeared at his side and walked in front of him and past the bouncer, thanking him as she made her way inside. Percy waited for Jason and Annabeth to slip inside too before he followed them.

"How did you do that?" Jason asked.

Piper started explaining before he could. She said, "Percy's band used to play here a lot for free, so now, they let us in whenever we want. Of course, we're not old enough to appreciate the free drinks yet, but this works too."

"You were in a band?" Annabeth asked.

"For a while, yeah," Percy said.

"What did you play?" She asked.

"Guitar. Sometimes drums, but not often," he said, threading through some of the crowd at the back so they could find a booth where they could see. "We played so many shows here for free that the owner decided we were all guests of honor and should be let in for free anytime we wanted."

Annabeth nodded. Even though she was probably a bit disoriented because of all of the people and loud music, she looked pretty impressed. "Why did you stop playing?"

"We grew out of it," he said. "Sure, we were good, but we weren't good enough to get a record deal or anything to make it long-term. We still get together and play sometimes. The guy that we're here to watch played piano in our band before he found these new guys."

Piper snagged them a booth in the corner with a perfect view of the stage. There was already a band up there, but Leo wouldn't start until after this set was over.

Percy and Jason slid into the booth on opposite sides, and Annabeth sat down next to him so Piper could sit by Jason. Piper was talking about something, and Jason was listening intently. His blush had faded, but there was this _look_ in his eyes—

He jumped when he felt Annabeth speak in his ear. Her voice was low when she said, "I bet she ends up kissing him by the end of the night."

Percy grinned and turned toward her to whisper, "No way. He'll kiss her."

"Yeah?" She asked. "What are you going to bet me?"

"Hmm. One ice cream date?"

She grinned, "You're on."

Ω

By the time Leo started performing, Jason and Annabeth were pretty comfortable. They were talking to them about anything and everything, and they had finally started sipping from the soft drinks that Piper got them from the bar. Percy hadn't realized how much they didn't fit in here until he noticed all of the looks they were getting from the rest of the crowd.

Damn, Jason must really like Piper to have agreed to come with them tonight.

Percy and Piper slid out of the booth to go stand at the back of the crowd for Leo's set. He was soloing tonight, performing some original songs that he had written. Percy had looked over some of them for him, and they were really good.

Annabeth and Jason were still chilling in the booth, waiting for them. When they had declined the invite to go out in the crowd, Percy had pulled Piper away before she could object.

Leo was still hooking up his keyboard when Piper said, "I think it's going okay, don't you?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "Pipes, Jason can't stop staring at you. I'd say that it's going better than okay."

She laughed and turned to smirk at him. "Well you and Annabeth seem to be getting awfully close, don't you think?"

"Yeah, actually," he said smugly. "And I need you to do me a favor so I can score a date."

"Ooooh," she sang. "Name your price, Jackson."

"Somehow, I'm not sure how you'll manage, but you have to wait until Jason kisses you before you kiss him."

Piper laughed really loudly, and he was pretty sure that both Annabeth and Jason turned to look at them. When she was finished giggling, she choked out, _"That's_ what you guys bet on?"

"Yep," he said, turning his attention to Leo, who was finally speaking into the microphone. "So don't mess this up for me, McLean."

Ω

It turns out, Percy and Annabeth didn't get to see for themselves who won the bet. After Leo finished his set and they spoke to him (who was definitely way to excited to see them, Percy still couldn't believe how much energy the guy had all the time), Percy and Piper lead Annabeth and Jason out of the bar and back toward the car. When they were getting close, Piper announced that she and Jason were going to get some ice cream and that they shouldn't wait up. Annabeth had raised her eyebrows, but agreed as Jason blushed while Piper grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

Percy and Annabeth climbed into the Jeep and headed back home. It was actually kind of late, and Annabeth said that she needed to get some sleep because she had been up all night doing homework the day before. Percy didn't mind—after all, he would probably be getting an ice cream date if Piper could control herself.

Just as they were getting close to Annabeth's house, his phone dinged with Piper's text tone. At almost the exact same second, Annabeth's phone rang too.

"I bet I know what that's about," Percy said smugly.

She laughed and read her text, "It's from Jason. He said…"

Her voice died down, and Percy looked over at her curiously. She was frowning down at her phone, like she was disappointed with whatever it said.

Percy snatched his phone out of the cup holder when he pulled to a stop at a red light.

 _You owe me big-time, loser._

He laughed delightedly, turning to smirk at Annabeth. He said, "Looks like you owe me an ice cream date."

She rolled her eyes, "That idiot couldn't even _wait_ for her to kiss him. I swear he does this to me on purpose."

Percy kept laughing as the light turned green. There wasn't a lot of traffic tonight, but it was already pretty late.

"How are Piper and Jason going to get home?" He asked. "Are they going to walk the whole way?"

"Don't laugh at me," she warned. When Percy glanced over at her, she was still looking down at her phone.

"Uh, okay."

"We thought that it might not go that well so we stashed Jason's car downtown today after school in case we wanted to leave early."

He looked over at her, and he really couldn't believe that she was telling him the truth.

"But I thought that Jason really likes Piper?" Percy asked.

"He does, but we don't exactly fit in with you guys," Annabeth admitted. "I mean, we don't go to bars and listen to the kind of music you guys listen to you. We don't even dress the same."

Percy felt his good mood deflate. Of course, he knew that they were different, but he couldn't help but think that they could have been friends anyway. He thought that Jason and Annabeth both didn't care about that stuff—he thought that they had liked him and Piper for who they were, not _what_ they were. Maybe he was wrong.

"Then why did you guys even agree to come with us tonight?" Percy asked, trying to cover his disappointment with a scowl.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Because Jason likes Piper, and you don't seem half bad."

Percy looked over at her, his scowl deepening. "You just said that you guys had an escape route prepared because we were too different."

"An _escape route?_ Not hardly. Call it over preparation," she said. "After all, it helped, didn't it? Jason and Piper went out by themselves, and he _kissed_ her. Which probably means that they're going to start dating."

He rolled his eyes, "Great. Now my best friend is just going to be with somebody else all of the time."

"Tell me about it." Annabeth sighed unhappily. "I mean, I like Piper, and I'm happy for them or whatever, but I swear I'm going to kick his ass when he starts blowing me off."

Percy didn't say anything, but he definitely agreed with her. Even though Piper probably wouldn't start blowing him off just because she had a boyfriend, he still wouldn't be happy when most of his best friend time was taken away.

They made the rest of the trip back to Annabeth's house in silence. She was still on her phone, and Percy didn't even bother to turn the radio up. When they pulled up in her driveway, Annabeth handed him her phone.

She raised an eyebrow when he stared at her. She said, "Put your number in my phone. I do owe you an ice cream date, don't I?"

He started at her for another second until he typed his number into her phone and handed it back.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," he said carefully.

Her gaze was amused, and she opened her door, jumping out and onto the ground. Her voice was light when she said, "I'll see you later, Percy Jackson."

She shut the door, and Percy waited until she was inside her house before he smiled and pulled away.

Ω

True to Annabeth's word, Jason and Piper started dating.

Piper had called Percy later that night, and she had told him all about how perfect everything had been. Percy had sighed happily for her when she told him how he kissed her and asked her to be his girlfriend. She had told him not to worry about anything before he could even voice his concerns because she declared every ride home from school along with every Monday to be best friend time.

Tonight though, Piper was out on a date, and Percy was at home alone. His mom and stepdad were out for date-night, and his sister was at his grandparent's house. He probably should have went with her, but he opted out because of some homework he should be doing. (But you know, he was sitting on the couch, watching TV.)

As for Annabeth, Percy had seen her a few times, and they were hanging out more and more now that Jason and Piper were always together. They had gone out on their ice cream date, and it had gone okay. It was a little awkward with it just being the two of them, but it was still nice.

They had also started texting. She would send him a stream of texts throughout the day, in between classes and sometimes at lunch. It was kind of cute, or at least it was until Piper started making fun of him.

He jumped out of his thoughts when his phone started ringing. He raised an eyebrow when he read the Caller ID, but he held the phone to his ear nonetheless.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I know that I never call you, but I am extremely bored, and my best friend decided to ditch me to go on a stupid date with his girlfriend."

Percy smiled despite himself. He said, "Tell me about it. I'm sitting at home, watching TV and avoiding my homework."

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned into the phone. "Let's go do something."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of hungry."

Percy laughed, "Want me to pick you up?"

"Oh my god, yes, please."

"Give me fifteen minutes."

Ω

Fifteen minutes later, Percy was sitting in her driveway. She must have been waiting for him because he didn't have time to get out or even text her that he was here before he was running outside and jerking the car door open.

"Drive," she said, sending him a look. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with her sneakers.

He raised an eyebrow, but he slipped the Jeep into reverse and backed into the street. The sun was already setting, so it was getting darker by the minute, and the color of the sky was doing this weird thing with Annabeth's skin, making it look like it glowed.

She was humming along to the radio and staring out of the window. Percy smiled.

"Where am I going?" He yelled over the radio and the wind, grinning even wider when she jumped and shifted her gaze to him.

Annabeth smiled, "Turn left at the red light."

Percy followed Annabeth's directions, and they ended up at a small diner. She jumped out the car without a second thought, and Percy did the same, meeting her at the front of the car.

She smiled at him over her shoulder as she walked. "Before my dad got his job with the lab, we used to come down here a lot. Especially when he found something new in his research. He would just get so excited, and he would put me in the car and we would sit down here for hours."

"How long ago was that?" Percy asked, trailing behind her.

She seemed to lose some of the spring in her step when she said, "About six years ago. He got that job, and he's been working ever since. I don't really see him that much."

"And what about your mom?"

Her hand froze on the door handle, and Percy wished that he hadn't asked.

"Car wreck," her voice was light, but it was wobbly. Percy winced, immediately regretting his question. "She died a few years ago. Right around the time my dad was looking for his new job, but they had been separated for a while before that."

He carefully touched her shoulder, "Annabeth, I'm sorry."

She shrugged and jerked the door open, leading him inside and over to a booth. "It's okay. It was a long time ago."

Percy studied her carefully. "Still."

Annabeth nodded, "What about you? Mr. Blofis is your dad, right?"

Before he could answer, a waitress sauntered up to their table, and Annabeth ordered two burgers and fries for them along with two chocolate shakes. The waitress nodded and shuffled away, heading toward another table with two older people.

"Anyway," Annabeth prompted.

Percy cleared his throat. "Paul is my stepdad. He married my mom a few years ago, and my little sister is his."

"And what about your real dad?"

He guessed this was payback for his questions, but Percy didn't mind. It wasn't a big deal. "Never knew him. Mom said he split a few days after I was born."

Annabeth studied him for a few seconds. Her eyes were a little softer than they were a few seconds ago, but she didn't offer him any comfort, like she knew that he didn't need it.

"Jason seems to really like Piper," she said, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Percy said hesitantly.

"I thought you approved?" Annabeth commented, raising an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged, "Jason's fine. He seems like a good guy."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. Me just being protective, I guess," he admitted.

She nods, looking down at the table. "Yeah, I feel the same way."

The waitress slid their food down onto the table, and Percy and Annabeth fell into a lighter conversation, laughing and smiling at each other while they ate their food.

Ω

They ended up in an abandoned parking lot.

Percy laughed loudly as Annabeth cursed and slipped to the ground again. He was leaning against his Jeep, laughing and sipping a Coke. After they had finished eating, Annabeth had asked what they could do next, and Percy had pointed to the skateboard that was lying in the backseat.

So they were in a parking lot, underneath one of the only lights while Annabeth tried to figure out how to skateboard. She kept slipping to the ground or stumbling off of the board.

"I'm going to figure this out, I swear," Annabeth muttered, scrambling up from the ground again and grabbing his skateboard.

Percy shoved away from the Jeep and walked over to her. She had one foot on the board, and she was getting ready to push off with the other foot, but Percy grabbed her around the waist to stop her.

She froze, but Percy didn't move his hands.

"You're going to keep falling if you keep doing it like that," he commented. "Let me show you how."

She nodded, but she remained silent.

"Put your other foot on the board," he said.

"But I'll—"

He interrupted her, squeezing her hips lightly. "I won't let you fall."

Annabeth took a shaky breath, but she pulled her other foot up onto the board. Her body tipped backwards, and Percy stepped closer to her, pushing her body up until she was standing straight. He left one of his arms around her waist before he stepped around her so he could see her face.

She was biting her lip and clutching his shoulder. Some of her hair was falling down around her face, but she didn't try and move it.

"You okay?" He asked.

Her voice sounded a bit weird when she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just. Don't let go."

He grinned, "Of course not. I've got you."

She made a face at him. "Okay, let's go."

He started walking, pushing Annabeth along on the skateboard with him. She slipped a few times, but Percy always shoved the board back under her feet.

"Is this how you learned to skateboard?" Shae asked.

Percy laughed, "No. Piper and I just jumped on the board like you were doing. It took us a few months and I broke both of my arms before I really figured out how to do it."

She laughed along with him before she fell silent again.

They carried on a lazy conversation as they circled under the lights, keeping close to the Jeep. It was late at night, and even though they should probably be heading home sometime soon, Percy was having a really good time here with Annabeth. He was also keeping an eye on some guys that were hanging out a few yards away from them. Which, Percy probably knew them, but he didn't want to get caught up in anything with them while Annabeth was with him.

She had mostly got the hang of riding the skateboard, and Percy was only holding her hand now. She had half-heartedly objected when he let go of her waist, but she didn't fall. Percy kept pulling her across the parking lot.

When they started to turn, the board slipped forward, and Annabeth pulled one of her feet from the board. She tipped to the side dangerously, and before Percy knew what he was doing, he reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her off of the board and into his arms.

The skateboard rolled away, and his heart was beating loudly. Annabeth had one of her hands on the side of his head, her fingers tangled in his hair. She was still gripping his hand with her other. She was facing him now, and her body was pressed completely against him, knees-thighs-stomachs.

Their faces were barely two inches apart, and Percy could feel her breath fan across his face when she breathed, "Thank you."

He didn't say anything right away, but he glanced down at her lips. Her fingers tightened in his hair, and she seemed to shift forward just a bit. She kept glancing down at his lips too, and if she didn't stop running her fingers over his hand, then he wasn't going to be able to stop from kissing her.

They stayed like that for _one, two, three_ seconds before the skateboard rolled back over and hit Percy in the ankles. He looked away, and he could hear the guys across the parking lot yelling and laughing.

Annabeth sighed and moved her hand from his hair and untangled their fingers. She stepped back from him, and the nerves on his body were still tingling from having Annabeth touching him.

Percy cursed himself silently as he bent down to grab the skateboard. He waved at the guys across the lot, rolling his eyes when they whooped and hollered in his direction. He turned back to Annabeth.

"Had enough skateboarding lessons for today?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, I don't think it's for me."

Percy laughed, and they made their way back to the car, ignoring the obvious tension between them. She smiled at him from across the console, and Percy turned the radio up.

Ω

Piper decided to inform him that he was supposed to get up the next morning so they could go running with Jason and Annabeth.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Piper asked over the phone.

He flopped down onto his bed, groaning into the phone. "I almost kissed her last night."

"Percy!" Piper squealed. He had to pull the phone away from his ear to save his hearing. "Why didn't you?!"

"Got interrupted," he grumbled. "And then she moved away from me anyway."

"Oh," she said. "That sucks."

"Yeah."

"But she probably likes you if she was about to kiss you!"

"Or she got caught up in the moment," Percy argued.

" _Percy—"_

He shrugged and shifted further down into his blankets. "You know it could be true."

"Okay, so why don't you try to kiss her again?"

"And what if she was actually caught up in the moment that night? What if she doesn't want to be friends anymore just because I tried to kiss her?" Percy challenged.

Piper sighed through the phone. "I don't know."

They were silent for a few seconds before Percy asked about Jason.

"He's great," she said. He could _hear_ the happiness in her voice. "I keep waiting for something to happen to make him seem less perfect, but he is literally the most perfect boy I have ever met. _Percy,_ he wants three kids. That's how many I want! How weird is that?!"

Percy laughed, "That's great, Pipes. I'm glad you're happy."

"I wish you would ask Annabeth out," she said. "I want you to be happy too."

"I'm fine, Piper," he said. "Don't worry about me."

Ω

So apparently, Percy and Annabeth are acting like their almost kiss never happened. When Piper and Percy meet up with them Saturday morning for their run, Annabeth just smiles at him before looking away.

Piper notices, and she squeezes Percy's arm before she greets Jason with a kiss and falls in beside him.

Percy skates behind them, and Annabeth jogs easily at his side. They don't say much, and it's kind of awkward between them now, which is just great because she was really fun to hang out with and now—

"You guys should come to dinner with us tonight," Jason said, looking back at them over his shoulder. He gave Percy a look before Piper agreed that it was a good idea.

And now Annabeth was going to come up with some excuse because she didn't want to go anywhere with him.

But instead she said, "That's a great idea."

Percy looked over at her, and she sent him a small smile.

Ω

They continue to act weird around each other for the next few weeks.

But they do still hang out with each other. They usually watch movies or go get something to eat on the nights when Jason and Piper are out on dates, and they kept going out with Jason and Piper too. It probably seemed like they were going on double-dates a lot, but while Jason and Piper were holding hands and pressing close to each other, Percy and Annabeth kept their shoulders from touching.

Which, it was normal, and it was nice, but the crushing feelings that he had for Annabeth now made it a lot more difficult to be her friend. And he would rather be her friend than not be anything at all. He really liked her, and he could handle these stupid feelings that he had.

Piper thought it was ridiculous. She rolled her eyes every time that they were around each other, and she always made it a point to find excuses for them to be alone together.

Percy was on the phone with Piper one day while she was driving. She was talking about what she was going to wear for her date with Jason that night, and Percy was listening happily, avoiding his homework for as long as he could.

Then suddenly, there were several loud noises coming through the speakers, and Percy had to pull the phone away from his ear. The line went dead.

He tried to call her back, but it never went through. He went downstairs in a panic because _was she okay? What was happening?_

His mom tried to keep him calm, but he was panicking because _why wouldn't she answer?_

They found out a few hours later that she had been in a car wreck. Piper's dad called Percy's mom (he was out of state working on a movie), and he asked them to go down to the hospital. Percy was the first one in the car, buckling his seatbelt and cranking the car as his mom ran out of the house and jumped inside.

When they got there, Piper wasn't in as bad of shape as they made it sound. She was groggy and upset, but she was awake. One of her legs was broken, and she had a few cuts across her face and arms from the glass, but other than that, she was okay.

Percy and his mom stayed in the hospital room with her, and after talking to the doctors and signing some paperwork, his mom left (with the okay from Piper) to go get his sister. Percy hung out in the hospital room with her for a while, and when she woke up more, she asked him to call Jason.

So Percy had pulled out his phone and leaned back into his chair.

"Hey, man," Jason said immediately. "Are you with Piper? She hasn't been answering my texts or call, and I don't remember making her upset."

"Oh, um. She's not mad at you or anything, she was actually in a car wreck. We're at the hospital now, so if you want to come down here, she wants to see you," Percy explained carefully.

"Oh my god," Jason breathed through the phone. He kept talking, but Percy couldn't hear him anymore.

"Jason?" He asked.

Piper looked up at him, "Is he okay?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "You were the one in the car wreck, and now you're asking if your boyfriend, who is perfectly fine, is okay."

"Is he?"

Before Percy could answer, he heard someone speaking into the phone.

"Percy?'

"Annabeth?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry, Jason is freaking out. Is she okay?" Annabeth said.

Percy nodded, trying not to sound too awkward all of a sudden. "Uh, yeah, she's fine. If you guys want to come down here though—"

"Yeah, we'll be right there," she said.

When Percy hung up, Piper was grinning at him. He rolled his eyes.

Ω

Percy was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up onto Piper's hospital bed when Jason ran into the room with Annabeth on his heels.

She was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with her hair pulled back. In fact, Jason was wearing work-out clothes too, so they must have come straight from practice.

Percy stood up, and Jason darted around the hospital bed, tossing his arms around Piper and pulling her up enough to hug her. He was murmuring something that Percy couldn't hear, but Piper was all smiles as she hugged him back.

Then, Percy felt someone touching his hand, and he was being pulled out of the room. Annabeth had grabbed his hand without a word and towed him away from them without saying anything.

As soon as they were out in the hallway, Percy started, "Annabeth, what's going—?"

She shoved his back against the wall and kissed him.

He was so surprised that her lips were literally pressing against his, he forgot to react. Annabeth was pressed against him with her chest keeping him in place against the wall. One of her hands was tangled with his, and her other was pressed against the wall beside his head.

When she pulled back, she stared at him. Percy blinked at her.

"Sorry," she breathed, not sounding sorry at all. "When you called and said that Piper had been in a car wreck, I figured you had too. Even though you were talking to me on the phone, I was scared that you were—"

Percy surged forward and kissed her, snaking one of his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She made a surprised noise against his lips, but then her mouth was moving against his and she folded into his arms. He could hear a few of the nurses down the hall laughing and awing, but he didn't pull back for a few more seconds.

When he did, his voice was breathless when he said, "No, no. I'm good."

She laughed lightly, and she sounded _nervous._ Percy bit his lip to hide his smile. He pecked her on the lips again before he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Hey," he murmured. "I really like you."

She was still laughing, "I gathered that."

Percy brushed his nose against hers and said, "You did?"

"Yeah, believe it or not."

"Okay, so let's date," he said playfully, brushing his fingers across her hip.

"Mmm. Okay."

He started laughing too, but Annabeth shut him up with another kiss. When she pulled him back into the hospital room with Jason and Piper, they both stared smugly at their interlaced hands.

Piper wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively, and Percy could already hear her saying _I told you so_ as soon as Jason and Annabeth left. He rolled his eyes at her, but then Annabeth squeezed his hand, and his eyes were right back on her.

Ω

Percy was in a skateboarding accident a few weeks later. He had been messing around with Jason at the skate park since Piper was still in a cast, and he had fallen off of it. His mom met him at the hospital, and Annabeth came in just as they were putting his new blue cast on his leg.

She freaked out on him, telling him that he should have been more careful. He pulled her down to his lips and shut her up with a kiss.

Piper made fun of him when he got back home, but he couldn't help but laugh about the fact that they both had broken legs now. After all, they did everything together anyway. Might as well include this.

The four of them spent the rest of the night in Percy's living room, curled up on the couch watching movies. Percy and Piper had their legs propped up on the coffee table. Jason had his arms around Piper, holding her against him, and Annabeth was tucked into Percy's side, holding his hand. When she caught him staring at her, she rolled her eyes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek or lips, and Percy wouldn't have had it any other way.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Leave a review!**

 **-SomethingMoreCreative**


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